School Project
by Sloppy Joe 313
Summary: Jamie is assigned to make a family tree over the weekend... Jack finds out why he's not playing outside and recognizes someone in his family tree. Who could it be?
1. Chapter 1

School Project

Jack flew through the window. It was a cool Saturday afternoon in November.

"Hey, Jamie! There's no school today, why aren't you outside playing?"he asked.

"My teacher gave us this boring family tree project to do over the weekend,"Jamie said, sounding bummed.

"Aww, it can't be that bad,"Jack said."After all, I'm 300 years old and I turned out pretty great. Can I see?"

Jamie handed him some old papers."Yeah. These are my great great great great great grandma and grandpa. His name was Henry Bennett."

"You sure look an awful lot like him,"Jack joked.

"Really? Mom keeps telling me I look like her,"Jamie said, pointing.

Jack looked and did a double take.

"Jamie,"he asked, carefully."What was her name?"

"Pippa. Pippa Bennett,"Jamie popped out.

"Do you know her maiden name?"Jack asked.

Jamie shook his head."I know she had a brother, though. Because she kept saying this one famous quote: 'My brother gave me a longer life so I'm going to live my life to my fullest.' Nobody knows anything else about her."

"I do,"Jack surprised himself by saying."I know everything about that person. When she was little at least."

Jamie looked at Jack, curiously."Who was she, Jack?"

"She was Pippa Frost,"Jack whispered."My sister."

Jamie's jaw dropped."You had a sister?! And she's my great times a million grandma?! That means... That means that you're... That you're my great times a million uncle! And you're the brother she was always talking about! Everybody thought she was crazy! What happened to her Jack?"

Jamie looked Jack in the eye, eagerly, and Jack grew nervous.

"Well, um,"Jack gulped."I took her ice skating one day, but I didn't check the ice. It was thinner than I expected and she was only eight years old... The ice had started to crack under her. She couldn't move without it cracking more. She was so scared. But I turned it into a game. Hopscotch, like we used to play every day. I made it to my shepherd's crook and then it was her turn. On three I yanked her onto thicker ice before the thin ice gave way. She was okay. But I fell through and became Jack Frost."

Jamie sat there with his mouth wide open.

"You'll catch flies if you leave that thing open too long,"Jack told him.

"I just can't believe it!"Jamie mused."I'm the first one to know what really happened in 300 years!"

"I could tell you all about Pippa,"Jack said."Did you know I used to call her pipsqueak?"

Jamie laughed."You're kidding!"

Jack shook his head."And I would climb trees so high that she would yell for me to be careful but after some convincing I got her up there with me. I even made her a doll."

"Wow,"Jamie whispered.

"Family tree isn't so boring now, is it, Jamie?"Jack asked.

Jamie shook his head."Definitely not."

Jack grinned."If you need any help I'll be around."

Jack flew back out the window and Jamie shook his head in amazement and got back to work with a grin on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jamie's school project had gotten Jack interested in what Pippa had done with the rest of her life. Or at least up until she lost the rest of her baby teeth. So, Jack flew to the Tooth Palace and was confronted by a very busy Tooth.

"Uh, hey, Tooth,"Jack stammered, as he tried to talk around her.

"Oh!"she greeted."Jack! Hi! What brings you here?"

"Well,"he said."I was wondering if I could see my sister's memories. So I know what she did and if she was okay after I became, well, Jack Frost."

Tooth looked at Jack with sympathy.

"Of course, Jack,"she said."All you had to do was ask. Now, what was your sister's name?"

"Pippa Frost,"Jack responded, popping the 'P's.

"Alright, let's see here..."the Tooth Fairy murmured."Ah hah! Right here! Oh, but Jack?"

She handed Jack the box and he looked up.

"Just... Don't be surprised if things end badly, okay?"Tooth looked at him with her big, kind, violet eyes.

Jack gulped and nodded. Tooth left to give him a little privacy. He took a deep breath and placed his fingers over the box. Immediately, Pippa's life began to unfold. Jack was watching it from her point of view, he realized. It was as if her whole world revolved around her big brother. Jack smiling down at her, Jack protecting her, Jack playing with her, Jack teaching her, Jack comforting her... Jack had never realized he had meant this much to his little sister and flinched with dread when he knew what was coming next. He watched himself drown in the the pond, sinking below the ice. Pippa, too stunned to move at first, then eventually started screaming his name.

"Jack! JACK!"she cried."You can't be gone! You promised to take me fishing, remember? You never break a promise! You said you weren't going anywhere without me!"

Pippa broke down and sobbed and sobbed until it was dark out. A search party calling Jack's and Pippa's names came. Jack felt helpless, just watching. A man broke through to the front of the crowd.

"Pippa!"he said."Are you okay? What are you doing out here, all alone? Where's Jack? Is he okay?"

Pippa looked at her father with tears in her eyes, lips blue, and throat scratched raw from crying and screaming.

"He's gone, Daddy,"she said."Jack's gone. He saved me but not himself. He didn't know how much I needed him, or else he never would have let this happen."

Pippa broke down all over again as her father picked her up and rocked her. The villagers looked at the hole where Jack fell and realization sank in. One by one, the villagers removed their hats. Pippa stayed in bed for about a week, which broke Jack's heart.

Finally, one day, she got up and said,"My brother saved my life, so I'm going to live it to my fullest."

Pippa looked to Henry Bennett and her parents for comfort. She had a couple of girlfriends but they would never understand. Henry was her best friend and they were just friends. They didn't know why she all of a sudden got teary eyed. They didn't know why she smiled faintly but sadly.

Pippa would often say things like,"Jack would have loved that." and "I bet Jack would have been the best at this game."

But she got better. As she got older, she eventually began to court Henry and learned to laugh again. Pippa never forgot her brother. Every winter, on the same day, she left a small wreath of flowers at the pond. Sometimes, Henry went with her.

On one of these outings, Henry said,"You know, I came here last night."

"Why?"Pippa mused.

"Why to get permission from Jack, of course,"he said.

"Permission for what?"Pippa was suspicious now.

Henry knelt down on one knee.

"Your hand in marriage. You, Pippa dear, are so special, I figured I had to get permission twice. Once from your father, twice from your brother. After all I didn't want the spirit of Jack Frost coming back to haunt me,"he joked.

Pippa looked stunned."Y-you asked Jack if you could marry me?"

Henry nodded."Now, all I need is your permission."

Pippa grinned so brightly, that Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes!"she exclaimed."Yes, yes, yes!"

Henry kissed Pippa and then the memories ended. Jack sat there, stunned.

"Wow,"he whispered.

Happy tears were leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Tooth came in, calling his name.

"Jack? Are you alright in here?"she called.

Jack quickly wiped his eyes."Um, yeah, yeah. I'm fine. It's good. Everything's good."

Jack handed Tooth the box and she took it.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that,"she said."I was a little worried that things wouldn't turn out good."

"No, no,"Jack said, halfway laughing."She lived a good life. That was all I needed to know. Thank you, Tooth."

Tooth smiled."You're welcome, Jack."

"I'm gonna go home now... And maybe talk to Jamie,"Jack said, waving goodbye.

"Bye!"Tooth called, smiling to herself, glad everything had turned out alright for the boy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack landed in the window.

"Hey, Jamie!"he called."Wanna know how Pippa and Henry met?"

Jamie looked up from his work, grinning."You bet!"

"Well,"Jack said, slowly."they actually kind of grew up together. Except there was one specific day that Henry asked my sister to play with him."

"What was it like?"Jamie asked.

"I was hiding out in a tree, only they didn't know it, and they were playing tag. I teased Pippa a little about it, but she held her head high,"Jack shook his head, grinning."She even used Hannah against me."

"Who's Hannah?"Jamie looked puzzled.

"Oh!"Jack jumped off the window and sat on Jamie's bed."I forgot you didn't know about that part. Hannah was a girl I had a huge crush on. Even walked her home one day. We had a huge snowball fight and everything. As it turned out, I got to walk home two pretty girls instead of one."

"Pippa?"Jamie geussed.

"Pippa,"Jack confirmed.

"What did Hannah look like?"

Jamie had surprised Jack.

"Oh! Um, well. She had long, dirty blonde hair that was always in her face until the day after I walked her home. Then, it was always pinned up. She was really shy. And she had deep green eyes, like emeralds, almost. Hannah had a sprinkle of freckles just across her cheeks,"Jack said, bashfully.

"Sounds like you're still gone for her,"Jamie teased.

Jack whacked Jamie with a pillow.

"Okay, okay!"Jamie said, laughing."Promise not to tease you anymore. So, tell me more about Pippa."

Jack told him about how he punched a bully's teeth out to protect Pippa, their ever famous snowball fights (which were just about the same as their leaf fights, when autumn came), and even when Pippa had a nightmare and how she would come to him.

"What was her worst nightmare about?"Jamie asked, gently.

Jack frowned and scrunched up his his face.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me,"Jamie said, hurriedly.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm just... trying to... remember..."Jack said, thinking."I think... There was this one time that really stuck out. But, uh, she came to my room, all freaked out and crying and woke me up. She told me that she was looking for me, like in hide-and-go-seek. Pretty normal, right?"

Jamie nodded.

"But then she said that the whole village was looking and nobody coud find me. Not so normal. So, I geuss her greatest fear was losing me, which, regrettably, did happen, but at least I gave her a longer life. I mean, the way she handled it was amazing. I'm so proud of her. Besides if I hadn't saved her, you wouldn't be here, right?"he nudged Jamie's shoulder.

Jamie smiled, slightly."Yeah. And you did get reborn, sort of..."

Jack ducked his head."I just wish I had remembered who I was and that Pippa knew I was there and alright. That would have saved her so much sufferring."

"How long did she mourn for you?"

Jack blinked."A week, I think. Then, she started realizing what I'd given her and didn't want to waste it."

"It must have been around the time she started saying you gave her a longer life,"Jamie concluded.

"Yeah,"Jack hung his head."But you know I don't feel too bad. I try to do something special for her every winter to make her happy and I think she appreciates it."

Jamie smiled."Like what?"

"Well, sometimes I make snow sculptures of flowers, or, now that I know she's my sister, decorate her grave."

Jamie smiled again."Thanks, Jack. You really helped me a lot. Part of the assignment is to pick someone who we admire most from our family tree. I think I know who I'm gonna pick."

Jack grinned and gave a little wave."See you around, Jamie."

And with that, he flew out the window.

"See you around,"Jamie said, softly.


End file.
